In a conventional technique, a vehicle operation performed by a driver is learned, and a learning result is used in various ways. Examples of apparatuses using this type of technique include an apparatus described in Patent Document 1.
The apparatus described in Patent Document 1 is provided with driver operation variation detecting means for detecting variation in a driver operation (a vehicle operation) performed by a driver driving a vehicle, and position information obtaining means for obtaining information indicating a position of the vehicle when the driver operation variation detecting means detects variation in the driver operation. The apparatus is also provided with map information creating means for storing variation in the driver operation in association with position information obtained at the time of the variation in the driver operation. In other words, in this apparatus, when variation is detected in a driver operation, map information is created by associating the variation in the driver operation with the position information obtained at that time. In so doing, a volume of stored map information can be reduced in comparison with a case where map information is created by storing information relating to a driver operation automatically at predetermined time intervals. According to a further function of this apparatus, when position information corresponding to new driver operation variation information is within a range of a predetermined position from position information corresponding to existing driver operation variation information, and both the new driver operation variation information and the existing driver operation variation information are of an identical type, the position information corresponding to the existing driver operation variation information is updated by the position information corresponding to the new driver operation variation information. In other words, driver operation variation information of an identical type is stored singly within the range of the predetermined position in the map information, and as a result, increases in the volume of the map information are suppressed even when the driver performs a vehicle operation repeatedly.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-103570